Tagged By xxFireWarriorxx!
by Noritsu
Summary: I've been tagged by FireWarrior in a friending meme! There are several questions I was forced to answer on pain of death. NoNoNo, I'm just kidding! So if my profile page wasn't informative enough, then this should help a little. Enjoy!


1. How about a brief introduction of yourself?

Well, how about I'm most likely the oldest author on the XS board. How's that for starters? *laughs* I live in a house next to a creek. I've got Mallard ducks, and snapping turtles, and a blue heron that come to visit me during the spring/summer months. I also have a warren of bunnies. Although I fear they may have perished last week when my yard flooded due to the torrential rains. *sad face* I love classic '80's rock. I don't like big cities & I prefer to remain in the country, but I love rock-n-roll. That's probably weird, I know. And I love country & craft fairs. I'm pretty big on that. Even if I don't buy anything, I at least have eaten my way around the booths. And that makes me very happy.

2. Fabulous! And what got you into fanfiction to begin with?

Oh, that was *totally* the fault of TPTB at Warner Bros. when they decided to cancel XS. That outraged a lot of fans including myself.

3. I see, so what kind of fanfiction do you like to write?

Well, XS is, of course, my main fandom. I have also written some LOST stories & I even did a Chuck/LOST crossover. But I haven't written any stand alone Chuck stories. I tend to prefer action/intrigue type stories.

4. Do you tend to write the same pairings/characters? Or are you a fandom whore?

Definitely not a fandom whore. I don't really ship Rai/Kim or Jate either. Usually, I tend to focus just on Rai, or just on Jack (Shephard). Actually -and I know this sounds really weird - but I like Jayid, too. Jack/Sayid. As friends, you understand. I have written two stories that were *totally* Rai/Kim & I will slip some Rai/Kimness into the stories, but it's not really what I tend to focus on as a whole. As for poor Kate, well, I think the only LOST story I did that included some Jateness was the LOST Island Beach Club fic I wrote. And that was just a "silly on purpose" story I wrote.

5. What is your most popular fanfic and why do you think people like it so?

Well, that has to be Winds of Change which was the first XS story I wrote. I'm still getting reviews for that & it's still getting favorited, which really makes me feel proud. Obviously, I touched something in the XS fans with that. I'm pretty sure that it's because we were all just in shock that they pulled the rug out from under us like that and we were all scrambling to fill in what might have possibly happened with the fight between the two factions. I was so freaking mad that I sat down and banged out Winds of Change. It helps to fill the void that was left.

6. Forget other people, what is the fanfic you've written that you're most proud of?

For XS it's Winds of Change. For LOST, I'm especially proud of Mixed Signals.

7. Do you find writing easy? Hard? What are the most difficult aspects of writing you struggle with?

I find writing both easy & hard if that makes *any* sense at all. There are times when I've just been so freakin' inspired that I've sat down at the 'puter and banged something out in a couple of hours and posted it right away. The flip side of that is, of course, tremendous writer's block that I just can't seem to get over. I've been known to take a subject notebook & go down to the lake and sit there & work on a chapter in longhand. *Really* Usually, that will break my writer's block. At least it's better than sitting cooped up in my house banging on my 'puter desk and yelling "Dangit, why can't I think of something?" *laughs* As for what I struggle with? Heck, that can be pretty much anything & everything!

8. Write a few sentences or so of your favorite pairing or character.

As it so happens I am actually in the middle of writing a new XS multi-chapter fic. So how about I post a little teaser from that? It's from Kimiko's POV.

My heart is breaking. This is the most information he's given up to any of us about how he feels since the day of the fight.  
I lean down, take his hand in mine. "Rai, please," I whisper, "don't give up on yourself. Time heals all wounds. That's how the saying goes, right? I can help you."  
He looks at me, looks directly in my eyes. His expression seems to be a mixture of sadness and knowing. Knowing that my statement falls so hopelessly short of its well meaning intentions.  
I want to cry.

9. Are there any fanfiction trends/clichés you can't stand or are just sick of?

Haha. I'm gonna take a lot of grief for this, I just know it. So, even though I'm pretty sure some invective is gonna roll my way, here goes – Vampires! I am so sick of all this vampire nonsense! I mean, seriously! Just….ew….. And also, Mary Sue/Gary Lou. Not fond at all of that either. I do sometimes read stories that have OC's in them, you understand. But it's when the OC takes over the fic & the main character(s) get shoved into the background or jettisoned altogether that I stop reading. I've read some really good stories that have had OC's in them that remained connected to the main character(s) that I thought were pretty good.

10. Are you guilty of any of the fanfiction trends/clichés you now hate? Or any other ones?

Not that I'm aware of.

11. What was the first fandom you wrote for? Do you still like/participate in it?

That would be XS. And, yes, although I must offer many, many apologies for being off the board for a year now, I do consider myself as still writing for that fandom. I do have a new story in the works that's kinda, sorta, almost finished.

12. Name your OTPs or most frequently written pairings/characters and explain what it is about them you love to write.

Well, with LOST I seem to write Jayid more than Jate! I know that's kinda odd. But I noticed early on in the series this weird sort of, I don't know exactly what to call it, a kind of telepathic connection, if you will, that Jack & Sayid seem to have. I noticed that whenever the bad stuff was happening and Jack & Sayid were trying to figure out what to do, there would just be this look of understanding that would pass between them. Like each of them totally knew what the other one was thinking or wanting to do & didn't have to voice it at all. I have often thought to myself that if Jack is the leader, then Sayid is his 2nd in command. Much more so than Locke. I think of Locke as being a rival for the leadership position so that cancels him out as a follower.  
As for Rai, well….. some of us will tell you that Rai has no equal. Yeah, sure, Chase comes close, but... *grins* If you ain't following him then you're against him. And if you're against him then you're on the wrong side & God help you! What I love most about writing Rai & the gang is the growth potential that they have. My belief is that they would stay together even after conquering the Heylin baddies because that's their life now and that's the way they want to continue living. Being the guardians of the Wu & the scrolls.

13. What would you call your writing "style"?

I'd say my writing can probably sound pretty old fashioned sometimes. I think I have definitely been influenced by the old classics masters. I love classic literature. I have read a few "current" books but not many. I should probably start trying to read more of those!

14. Do you read other people's fanfics? If so, what do you find yourself reading the most?

I am ashamed to say that I haven't been really following the XS or LOST stories as much as I used to. And I actually have a semi-legitimate excuse. *laughs* I have just been blown away by a new little show called White Collar. Perhaps some of you may have heard of it? I have become **seriously** infatuated with this show. Alas, to the neglect of continuing to read XS & LOST stories. At some point, I'm thinking I will take a crack at writing a White Collar story if for no other reason than to just see what type of plot I might come up with. I really need to start scrolling through the XS stories again, though, just to see what new stuff is there. And I also should get back to the LOST board, too. Since LOST has ended I've been feeling slightly devastated and reading some "what happened after they went into the light" stories would probably make me feel better.

15. Name one thing you'd LOVE to write, but have been too afraid or shy to do.

Oh, that's simple. Yugioh. Hands down. Would you believe that my most favorite fanfic *ever* is a Yugioh story and not even an XS or a LOST story? It's called Lesser Deities by Talia Ali. I'm not afraid or shy to write a Yugioh story, it's just one of those things where I'm simply not sure if I'll ever get around to doing it.

16. Do you have trouble taking criticism? Or worse yet, do you have the dreaded _bloated ego_?

I've been very fortunate that I haven't received many negative comments on the stories I've written. The few that I have gotten weren't flames, thankfully. Flames serve no constructive purpose whatsoever, and I really can't stand those kinds of posts. I can't refer to flames as "reviews" cause there's no actual reviewing going on in them. It's just somebody flinging insults at you for no good reason. I did take the few negative comments I got pretty well because the reviewer was picking out something they didn't like specifically and stated why they disagreed/thought it was wrong.  
As for the bloated ego, thing…. Heavens, no. I'm always afraid that the story I post will not be liked very well & will get negative reviews. I've never, ever posted a story & thought – OMG THIS IS THE MOST AWESOME STORY I'VE EVER WRITTEN AND EVERYONE WILL LOVE IT, GO ME! Nope, never gone there.

17. When you write, is there anything that helps? Music? Quiet room?

I listen to classical or symphonic music when I write. And I do love this kind of music. Sometimes I'll go into AOL Radio & click on classical music & then "the works" which is the full symphony orchestra. Sometimes, I pop in my Lord of the Rings CDs. I can't listen to rock, unfortunately, cause then I get distracted & I wanna sing along to what's playing! That just doesn't work.

18. What inspires you?

Nature. The out of doors. Anything where I'm not cooped up inside four walls on a prolonged basis. Which is funny I say that right now considering there's a heat wave rolling across the country and I'm purposely staying indoors in the air conditioning.

19. Lastly, how would you sum up your fanfiction experiences and yourself as a writer?

I think I can honestly say that my FF experiences have been very good. I think the authors on the boards – any boards – are mostly good people that have a real, enthusiastic love for the art of writing fanfic. Myself as a writer? I'm gonna walk down the road of humility on that one. I think I'm a fairly decent writer.

20. Tag some friends, because they'll hate you for it.

Well, I already told my niece I was tagging her. She's Tara1993. As for three others – how about – Alex Zin, blue-eyes2014, & tennisgurl13.

And I can't end this without saying thanks to FireWarrior for tagging me & also reiterating her sentiment that if there's anyone else that wants to join in the fun, what the heck, go ahead, right? The more the merrier. At least that's what those "they" people say.

TTFN, Nori


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